Marvel has been under a lot of heat since Edgar Wright walked off their Ant-Man project. Director Payton Reed has since taken on the job, and the studio is pressing forward. For the first time since Wright split with Marvel, studio president Kevin Feige spoke about the movie. In a recent interview with Total Film, he said:

"Ant-Man is still going to come out on 17 July [2015], we start filming this August. Edgar Wright, who I've known for many years, who wrote the draft with Joe Cornish - much of the movie will still be based very much on that draft and the DNA of what Edgar has created up to this point, but Peyton Reed has stepped in [to direct]. Adam McKay, a very good writer is reworking parts of the script - not the entirety of the script, but some of it - and it's going to, we believe, come to life in the best version of Ant-Man that we could possibly make. Again Ant-Man is a very important character for us. We like that people don't necessarily know what it is, we like that it sounds sort of strange when you first hear the notion of Ant-Man, or a hero that can shrink, but he's a very key Marvel character: he's a key Avenger."

I do love that he points out that Ant-Man is going to be a key member of the Avengers. I was really hoping to eventually see him join the team, and it looks like that's where the story will lead. Feige went on to talk about their Doctor Strange adaptation and exploring the whole supernatural side of the Marvel universe:

"Scott Derrickson has been announced as the director. Doctor Strange is a character that I've been interested in for many, many years and that I've talked about in interviews for probably 14 years, because I believe it's very, very important for us to explore every nook and cranny of the comic-book universe and we've done the street-level heroes, and we've done the billionaire superheroes [on Earth]. We've now done the cosmic side with Thor and Avengers and most obviously with Guardians, but there's a whole other side of the Marvel comics, which is that supernatural side - the interdimensional side of the Marvel universe, and Doctor Strange is, I believe, our entry point into that other realm, which has dozens of characters and storylines all of its own."

He then added that production on the film will begin next Spring, and they still have yet to cast an actor to play Stephen Strange. The three actors currently in the running are Jared Leto, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy.

I suggest you read the full interview as Fiege also talks about Marvel's Netflix series', Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos, and the chances of Spider-Man, X-Men, and Marvel crossing over with each other.

Joey Paur — Co-Founder / Editor of GeekTyrant.com, and if you haven't noticed I write… a lot. Movies are my passion and I live and breathe all things geek. This site is part of my life's work, it's a part of me. I love what I do, and I enjoy sharing everything I can with you when it comes to movies and geekery. In my spare time I travel to the netherworlds to battle demons.
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